"To look at Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd today, to say they would retire in two years would be ludicrous. Maybe Rudd thought that a year ago, but he isn't thinking that today. He's thinking, 'How am I going to win that championship next year?'"
Staying Competitive
To watch 45-year-old Rusty Wallace operate is to see a driver seemingly in perpetual motion. He is completely focused on getting his race car to drive well.
Wallace is also keenly aware of the limited time a driver has to remain at the top of his game. He is still close to that peak, but he knows that as he travels further into his 40s, the lure of getting out will become stronger.
"What keeps me going is we are constantly competitive, we are winning races, running up front and we're still at the top of our game," Wallace says. "If my performance starts to slip, I'd say the hell with it. All of my contracts run through 2003, and I'll have to make my mind up if I want to continue that on after 2003. I probably will. As long as I'm winning, I'll keep on digging."
When Wallace left the American Speed Association (ASA) to join team owner Cliff Stewart as a Winston Cup rookie in 1984, Petty, Allison, and Yarborough were still winning races and Parsons and Baker were still considered stars.
But, as Wallace started to win races, many of those older drivers were finding it more difficult to find Victory Lane.
"The only reason those guys ran that long was because there was no money in the sport and that is all they knew how to do for a living," Wallace says. "Now, there is a lot of money in this sport, and you don't have to run as long to be financially stable and where you would like to be in your career. Before, you ran and ran and ran.
"Unfortunately, when David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, and Richard Petty ran, it didn't pay anything. Now, there is a lot out there. That's the reason I think drivers will not take the risk and keep carrying on. I think they will think about backing off kind of early."
Mark Martin is another product of the early 1980s who came to NASCAR Winston Cup from ASA. In fact, when Martin raced out of North Liberty, Indiana, in the late '70s, he was the youngest driver in ASA history to win the national championship. Martin was just a teenager when he won ASA championships in 1978, then repeated in 1979 and 1980.
The 2001 season broke a Martin tradition of being a championship contender, and that took its toll on the racer. "I was depressed because I really have enjoyed being a championship contender for a dozen years straight," says Martin.
Spending time with his son, Matt, and his quarter-midget operation in Florida has given Martin a new outlook on what it means to be a Winston Cup driver at age 43.
"I realize the importance of what I do out on the racetrack," Martin says. "It's more important than winning every race. Those kids, it didn't matter to them that I didn't have the best year. It really didn't matter to them. They still looked at me the same way, and I realize that now.
"Instead of judging my self-worth based on where I am in the points or how many races I won this year, maybe I should just go out there, keep my eye on the target and do the best that we can all do and not let that drag me down when it doesn't always work out the best."
The Clock Is Ticking
While Martin takes a philosophical approach to his role as a NASCAR Winston Cup driver, Ricky Rudd is a realist. The 45-year-old driver, who battled Jeff Gordon for the Winston Cup title for most of the 2001 season, knows he won't be competing for many more championships.